WOW, i ordered the rack last night and FedEx has already sent me a tracking number saying delivery is scheduled for Wednesday!

I didnt even have a chance to call and cancel the bushings...

So far so good with RockAuto!

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Pre-Lowered 02 Liberty
2.5" Rustys Coil w/ Ranchos in the rear.
ARB, OME927's, 1/4 strut plate and Als Gen 4.5 Uppers in the front.
Flowmaster Super 40 Series (GONE, SO QUIET!)
245/75/16 Kumho KL-78 w/ Spidertraxxxxx
Ripped out the plastic inner wheel liners
Herculined ALLLL over.....

GRRRR HOW THE HECK DO I GET THE STEERING SHAFT BACK ON THE NEW GEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can i unratchet strap the steering wheel to get the end of the steering shaft aligned with the new rack?


This is by far the worst job i have done on a car. Will do text only write up later. No time for pics....

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Pre-Lowered 02 Liberty
2.5" Rustys Coil w/ Ranchos in the rear.
ARB, OME927's, 1/4 strut plate and Als Gen 4.5 Uppers in the front.
Flowmaster Super 40 Series (GONE, SO QUIET!)
245/75/16 Kumho KL-78 w/ Spidertraxxxxx
Ripped out the plastic inner wheel liners
Herculined ALLLL over.....

You may turn the steering wheel only up to 1/4 turn in either direction before damage can result to the clock spring.If you need more then 1/4 turn either way to align the shaft and coupler you need to turn the steering input shaft the rest of the way.

I figured it out. The new rack did not come centered exactly or moved during shipping. I had to turn the shaft 1/4 turn on the rack to match up with the steering coupler and it slid right in.

I ended up taking the rack out and putting the new one in through the passenger side wheel well. That was one hell of a job for the remove and replace. I took all the hard lines off the new rack before I slid it in and then reattached after the rack was in.

I also got the passenger side half shaft assy out and sealed the hole with a piece of plastic and siliconed it to the outside of the diff. Ill post pictures tomorrow after button everything up.

I was just sitting here nursing my wounds from the day and realized that I should have taken the front drive shaft out before I removed the half shaft shouldnt I have? I cant spin that driveshaft with no axle in the passenger side right? And i think there is no way to get at all the bolts on the front end of the driveshaft without spinning the shaft right?

Please tell me im wrong...

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Pre-Lowered 02 Liberty
2.5" Rustys Coil w/ Ranchos in the rear.
ARB, OME927's, 1/4 strut plate and Als Gen 4.5 Uppers in the front.
Flowmaster Super 40 Series (GONE, SO QUIET!)
245/75/16 Kumho KL-78 w/ Spidertraxxxxx
Ripped out the plastic inner wheel liners
Herculined ALLLL over.....

You will be fine since the D30A is not a C-clip axle,no worries about the spider gears falling out.

Oh man thats good news. So its only the rear diff that you cant move the drive shaft on while the axles are out cause of the clip.... Good to know.
I dont think my back could handle being on the cement for that much longer if i had to re-do that side.

Im in tough shape. On the plus side, i got a killer sunburn/tan today. I was outside working on this from 7:30am-7:00pm. I dont know how the hell you did one in 4 hours, you must have wrenches for fingers!

Thanks, ill post some pics and a write up tomorrow under a new post for future searchers.

I think im gonna do my u-joints tomorrow too!

_________________
Pre-Lowered 02 Liberty
2.5" Rustys Coil w/ Ranchos in the rear.
ARB, OME927's, 1/4 strut plate and Als Gen 4.5 Uppers in the front.
Flowmaster Super 40 Series (GONE, SO QUIET!)
245/75/16 Kumho KL-78 w/ Spidertraxxxxx
Ripped out the plastic inner wheel liners
Herculined ALLLL over.....

And think that was my 1st steering rack done in a KJ also but turning wrenches for so long I can visually look at something and know what needs to be removed to get a part out and in.You can ask daspes about the time it took,he was there and did help since it was his KJ.At least now you know what is involved and why that is a $1200 job at a shop.

Yea i was saying that to my GF today. She kept making fun of me cause she could hear me swearing all day long from inside the house. I said there is a reason why i paid $300 for this job but the dealer would have charged $1200. I just hope everything is ok once i get it on the road. I shook the front rotor when i had everything together b4 doing the half shafts and there was no or clunk or play at all so hopefully that was it!

The biggest prob i had today was getting the rack out. I finally gave in and loosened the diff mount and gained that 1/2" which made a big difference. Wiggled that sucker right out the side. The hard line fittings on the old rack were all frozen of course so i had to be extra careful with them so i could reuse the lines.

_________________
Pre-Lowered 02 Liberty
2.5" Rustys Coil w/ Ranchos in the rear.
ARB, OME927's, 1/4 strut plate and Als Gen 4.5 Uppers in the front.
Flowmaster Super 40 Series (GONE, SO QUIET!)
245/75/16 Kumho KL-78 w/ Spidertraxxxxx
Ripped out the plastic inner wheel liners
Herculined ALLLL over.....